In order to really reach the lost and hurting there has to be a certain feeling attached to a believers emotions – uncomfortableness.

Comfort breeds complacency, and complacency is a splinter of pride that destroys our witness, testimony, and our get up and go.

If we sit idle consumed with worldly wants and desires, not only do we create a Petri dish of sin, but worse, we do the opposite of what Christ wants/commands, which is to be in a compulsive state (I Cor 9:16) of pursuing (Matt 29:19).

When we are uncomfortable we know we are reaching outside of ourselves, trusting in Christ, to make a difference in people’s lives that would normally be out of our sphere of everyday living; e.g. sex-trafficked prostitutes, street kids, drug addicts, etc.

Before we were born – Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”

In our sin – Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Through our pain – Psalm 34:18, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

In all things – Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

He has always been there for us and will never leave. He is unchanging, relentless, and committed to you, and you are in His thoughts. That is love.

Let us reciprocate by being obedient and pursue Him with all that is within us.

Matt 22:37-40, “And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

23/11/13 – Coyoacan

30/09/13 – Monumento a la Revolucion

If you are interested in learning the choreography and join us, this is for you:

Important requirements

1. No matter what denomination you are, the purpose is to share Christ, so we will distribute flyers after the FlashMob.

2.-You don´t have to be a Christian to join us, but you have to accept the fact that this is a Christian movement, we will have fun, but we will ask you to help us hand out flyers after the FlashMob in the Zocalo.

3.-You can go alone, surely you´ll make new friends.

4.- It´s free.

5.- You don’t have to be an excellent dancer, is MORE than enough! if you can move rhythmically and you feel like and arrangement.

Invite all your friends, help us to spread the word, and also you can invite your friends to this event!

The rehearsals will last only an hour, so your punctuality will be very important and we will not take too much of your time.

I am in a battle and I need your help.

Over the last three years, working with the street kids of Mexico City, I have seen some heartbreaking things. I have worked with kids that have been abandoned in the street to fend for themselves – many around the age of 9 or 10. The youngest I have worked with is four years old… he is being raised by his teenage parents who are addicted to huffing solvent. Over the last three years, in the groups I work with, seven have died. It is rare for these kids to live past the age of 25.

The Mexican government does not have the resources to provide for these forgotten kids, so we are going to raise the money to purchase a large facility to house close to 200 kids. There is nothing like this in the city!

In order for us to raise these kind of funds, we have to raise awareness. And, the way this is going to be done is through a documentary that will be seen throughout the US. This film will share the kids tragic stories and talk about what can be done to help.

How can you help?

1) Please share this on your page(s) and help us bring attention to our documentary.

2) Pray for this project. Prayer is our best resource!

3) Share this with your business, church, family, and anyone else that will listen… please.

4) Help us fund the film. No amount is too small or too large.

We can make this film, buy a building, and see part of a large problem resolved.

“Many people would tell me that Jesus is love, Jesus is not about going and condemning or anything like that. But if you really look at Scripture, Jesus says: I did not come to bring peace. that I came to bring a sword. And the sword that he is talking about is truth, is the Gospel. Is what separates people from their families and their friends. Because they are hearing something that it is difficult for them to process. Because they are in loved with their sin. So when we go and we pursue people, we have to make sure that the Gospel is in order.”

Relentless Pursuit (RPM) is committed to improving the lives of those in spiritual and economic poverty. Our focus is to serve our neighbors and people groups across the globe, just as Christ commanded. Following Christ’s example, our ministry brings hope and inspiration to people who need it most… at the time they need it most.

The RPM method of helping transform lives is unique and has a high impact on the communities and people in need, as well as on ARP volunteers themselves. We go with a firm mission in mind: we will share the gospel with the masses, whether through one-on-one encounters or speaking to thousands, and we want to leave a legacy of discipleship and forward action. Ultimately, we energize communities to go and seek God where He is working and to follow His commandments.

It is estimated that out of the nearly seven billion people in the world and 16,788 different people groups, 2.8 billion people and 6,951 people groups remain unreached, meaning they have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. This does not include the millions who have heard the name of Jesus, but have not heard a solid gospel presentation. I know this seems staggering, but if you look at simple math you will see great things can be achieved by one person making a difference. If a man shares the gospel with three people and disciples them properly, and those three people do the same, then you will see people come to know Jesus Christ at an exponential rate.

Matthew 28: 19-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Two simple letters, G and O, make for a very powerful ministry. God makes it very clear. We are to GO and bring the gospel to people, baptize people, teach people, and serve people. For that reason, we are pursuing the lost, hungry, hurting, needy, sick, orphaned, widowed, oppressed, homeless, and the traveler, and introducing them to their King.

Be a part of this exciting adventure! You can help by going on a mission trip with our experienced staff, by contacting us and being a prayer partner, or by donating to our mission. We want you to be a part of our team!

Being a Christ follower means following Christ. Seems simple enough, but many people are missing the mark. Following Jesus means to die of yourself and commit your life to Him – your pursuits become His pursuits, and earthly desires are cast aside.

Over the last one hundred years or so, we have offended God. We have traded in discipleship for lesser church activities, evangelism for comfort, and working with the needy for building bigger and better buildings.

We have stood idly by as people created “another” gospel claiming God wants them to have the desire’s (wealth and material) of their hearts, as believers are being martyred and thrown in prison everyday, because of sharing their faith. This “name it, and claim it” perversion has drawn people to a gospel that cannot save.

We have watched cults go door to door in our communities sharing a false message that minimizes, removes, or distorts the deity of Jesus Christ. Their message will certainly take people to hell, but we watch from our windows scared to confront them because of a lack of biblical knowledge.

Countless Muslims have entire books of the Quran memorized, but today’s so-called Christian can only recite a few, if any, verses. Yet, radical Islam promotes death to the infidel (The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers), and Christians have taken the stance not to agitate or offend Muslims. Is introducing Jesus to a Muslim offensive or loving? Both.

What has happened to the Church?

In Jeremiah 2, God says, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals (promises to God), your following after Me in the wilderness…” He then says, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me And walked after emptiness and became empty?”

This is our dilemma. God remembers our devotion to Him, and craves this relationship, but we have left Him for emptiness. This emptiness, our vanity, has placed a wedge between us and Him. We have traded the truth for a lie.

What is the answer? It is simply to fall in love with Jesus and follow His commands. Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will follow my commandments.” The answer is to study the scripture and believe what it says rather than trying twist scripture to fit our wants.

Following Christ often leads to persecution and uncomfortable situations, but our treasures are not here, they are in Heaven (Matt 6:20). This is because, as Charles Spurgeon says, we are “sharing a great deal of disagreeable truth.” This disagreeable truth is the unfiltered Gospel. It is repent and believe (commit to) in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As scripture says, we are temporary travelers on this planet, upon placing our faith in Christ, and our persecution and discomfort should be counted as blessings (Matt 5:10-12).

It is time to knock off the dust of complacency and self serving mentalities, and start moving towards God and His pursuits. Stand bold for Christ and preach Jesus.

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus was preaching “repent and believe” (Mk 1:15, Mk 1:38) and teaching his disciples to go out and preach repentance (Mk 1:17, Mk 6:12, etc.), first. The miracles and all of His divine dealings were a springboard for His message of salvation.

The miracles…

1) Showed the divinity of Jesus. “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:11). Which, in return…

2) Provided Him an audience to hear His message of repent and believe. Crowds came to see Jesus drawn by the prospect of seeing or receiving a miracle – what they received was far greater.

3) Showed compassion – Throughout the New Testament we see His compassion. Example: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14). We must have compassion to minister to the lost. Compassion is a byproduct of love, and love is the fuel for the believer to reach out to a hurting and lost world.

Ultimately, everything that was written about Jesus and everything He did led to the cross. At the end of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus speaks perfectly concerning what has transpired:

Luke 24:44-47, “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

The “_____is as _____does” saying is rather catchy. I find myself often enacting the Forrest Gump version of this: getting back from the grocery store and, instead of making three trips, I decide to carry all 20 bags in at once. That is me demonstrating stupid is as stupid does. Insert your favorite Mr. Bean or Cosmos Kramer pratfall – falling down stairs, tripping over the dog(s) or my feet – and that is usually my comical ending.

I think we, as believers, can apply this to our faith journey. We can insert holy, loving, giving, serving, and a host of other verbs, to this phrase, to describe how our faith should be demonstrated here on earth. But, today, I would like to concentrate on compassionate.

Compassionate is as compassionate does.

Compassion: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Jesus is our best example of compassion.

Matthew 9:36: Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 20:34: Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

Jesus, though he was God, was also human, with human emotions. He had tough days. In Matthew 14, Jesus had just received the news that the person who knew Him best, John the Baptist, had been murdered to fulfill a sinful promise by a lustful King Herod.

Matthew tells us how Jesus reacted: Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself… (Matthew 14:13a)

Most of us have experienced something tragic from life – an illness, betrayal, loss of job, losing a loved one – this is part of life. It is natural for us to want to be alone, with God, to process what has happened. I believe this is what Jesus wanted.

But the people were relentless and would not let him have this time. Matthew tells us…

…when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. (Matthew 14:13b)

Jesus could have easily avoided the people, but the Bible tells us how Jesus responded: When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. (Matthew 14:14)

As with His entire ministry, Jesus was being an example. During difficult times – times when He was tired, ridiculed, saddened, harassed, persecuted – Jesus was always loving, and compassionate… All the way to the cross.

Earlier, in Matthew, Jesus said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12, 13)

Jesus makes it clear that not only does God have compassion for sinners and the hurting, but He desires that we have that same compassion. Even when we are experiencing the difficulties of life, we should be compassionate. He wants us softer, more pliable, and usable.

Let us use our life experiences to minister to the sick, hurting, and needy… all the time sharing the life-saving Gospel.

On January 7th of 1789, George Washington was elected as the first American President. At his inaugural address, he said that since God had seen to bless us with opportunities for our country to thrive, we must ensure “His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend.”

President Washington knew that, in order for us to succeed as a nation, we must faithfully rely on our God. George Washington quotes:

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”
“What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.”
“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors.”

How far removed are we from these wise words? Let us research scripture to find out.

Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is The LORD.”

Let’s look at this verse in three parts to get a better understanding of it as a whole. The three parts are … 1) the nation 2) whose God 3) is The LORD.

1) The Nation: Quick definition of Nation – a large aggregate of people UNITED by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. What united us? It was the overwhelming desire of our forefathers to have religious freedom. Their desire stemmed from their understanding of God’s Holy Word – an unmovable, unshakeable declaration of eternal truth from our Creator.

2) Whose God: From the beginning of creation, people have placed other gods (selfish desire, pride, idols, demonic influence) before the One True God. The bible is clear: complete surrender and reliance on God is the perfect and only place to reside.

3) Is The LORD: the nation that is blessed is the one that worships God. He is the One who hung the moon in the sky and sent the planets in rotation, the God who speaks life into existence, and who cares for every fiber of our being, whose greatest example of love comes through sacrifice and suffering, sending His Son to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

The take-away…

A nation led by God is, indeed, a blessed nation. If a nation that was founded on and by God decides to return to serving God, then certainly God would be with her, correct?

Perspective in time: many of the framers and signers of the constitution died in the 19th century. Today we still have people alive from that century. It may seem that our once God-led country is a long way from where we started, but, if we turn back toward God, we may not be as far as we think.

Our nation can be what it once was, but revival is needed. Revival, for our country, starts individually then spreads throughout. Start where you stand.

Luke 2:10,11 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Real joy, everlasting joy, comes through Christ. So how do we receive this real joy?

John 15: 9-11, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

The answer is to 1) follow Jesus and 2) keep His commandments. By doing this joy is woven into the fabric of your being – No heartache, strife, or loss can remove it; it is there forever (Hebrew 13:5).

Celebrate the season because a Savior has come. Good news of great joy, indeed!

The common household sponge will get in the dirtiest corners of the house and work. Not only will it take the water that it has absorbed and deliver it where it is needed, but it will remove the dirt from the worst of places. By itself it is small and non-effective, but when it is filled with water, it expands and becomes extraordinary.

It may be a crude analogy, but Believers can learn a little something from the sponge. Be filled (Holy Ghost) and deliver (Seek people) is the instruction scripture gives us (Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:19,20). Let the Living Water expand your life (John 7:38), and go and seek all people – even in the dirty places that may make you feel uncomfortable. Live by faith and watch God work.

John Stephen Spivey

Instigator of Hope

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Reaching out to the Spirit World

The Day of the Dead holiday centers on gathering with family and friends to pray for, remember, and, some people believe, to visit with friends and family members who have passed away. During the three day celebration certain people will try and reach out to their lost loved ones by performing rituals or good deeds for them (building altars, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and providing favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts).

Many people believe that, by their good deeds, they can connect with their deceased family members, in the afterlife, during the Day of the Dead celebration. Do you believe in an afterlife? You should. However, performing rituals does not bring us any closer to the afterlife, nor do good deeds in any fashion. The bible says in Isaiah 64:6, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds (Good deeds), they are nothing but filthy rags (Before God)… and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”

Are you really a sinner?

Have you ever lied? (A University of Massachusetts study asserts that the average person lies four times per day while God says that all liars will have their place in the lake of fire.) Have you stolen even something small or looked at a person with lust? Used God’s name in an empty way? Been extremely angry with someone? (In God’s eyes, this is the same as murder.) If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then you are a sinner. And these sins will stop you from entering Heaven. This is based on God’s Holy Standard – the Ten Commandments, and the above was only five of the ten. James 2:10 says that if you have broken just one of the commandments, you are guilty of all. In Romans 6:23, it states that the payment for our sin is death, an eternal separation from Him, in Hell. Hell is an unpleasant word, but a very real place. In the Bible, Jesus talks more about Hell than He does Heaven. This should be a very real indicator that our predicament is serious and we should be careful how we move forward.

Are you ready for some good news? Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This what Jesus did for us over 2000 years ago – A sinless savior came down from Heaven, in human form, to be our sacrifice, and to give us a second chance. He died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (I Peter 2:24) and rose up on the third day to show that He is God. This is the highest form of love (John 3:16). Your only requirement is to turn away from your old life (sin) and turn toward God (Acts 3:19). This is repentance and it is mandatory for entrance into Heaven.

God’s Grace, Your Choice

It is because God is merciful that we have this amazing opportunity, through His unfailing love. We have clearly sinned and not lived according to His righteous standard. Even so, God has provided unmerited divine assistance. This is grace. Think of where you stand before our Holy God. Do not choose to ignore the Gospel Truth (John 14:6) and let your way of thinking separate you from God. We, ultimately, know that we have a God and we have not met His Holy Standard. He has pursued you with an everlasting love and is ready and waiting for you to repent and turn toward Him. How will you move forward?